College celebrates living wage week with new accreditation

North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College has joined businesses across the UK as an accredited Living Wage employer at the start of Living Wage Week (week commencing 5 November 2017).

This commitment will see everyone working at the College, regardless of whether they are direct employees or third-party contracted staff, receive a minimum hourly wage of £8.45 (significantly higher than the statutory minimum for over 25s of £7.50 per hour which was introduced in April 2017).

Marion Plant OBE, Principal and Chief Executive said: “We are delighted to join the Living Wage movement and to have been recognised as a Living Wage employer. Investing in our people is at the heart of our values. We have recently been able to offer a bonus to our staff for the commitment they have shown during our recent merger.

“Not only does every member of staff in our organisation earn the real Living Wage but our commitment sends a signal to the wider community about the importance of this issue. We believe that a fair day's work deserves a fair day's pay wherever people work and that is why we chose to gain accreditation.”

The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually, based on the cost of living in the UK. Employers choose to pay the real Living Wage on a voluntary basis. The Living Wage enjoys cross-party political support.

Katherine Chapman, Director, Living Wage Foundation said: “We welcome North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College to the Living Wage movement as an accredited employer.

“Responsible businesses across the UK are voluntarily signing up to pay the real Living Wage now. The real Living Wage rate is calculated to reflect the real costs of living.

“We are a movement of over 3,500 UK employers who together want to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on. We have lots of small businesses as well as big household names including IKEA, Aviva, Chelsea and Everton Football Clubs and many more. All these businesses, including North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, recognise that the Living Wage accreditation is the mark of a responsible employer."